In the 1950s, worldwide, the fertility rate was approximately 5 children per woman.

The birth rate has been reduced dramatically in the last 75 years, with less than half the amount of babies being born now than in the 1950s. This is caused by a number of factors, including “the significant reduction in infant and child mortality, reduced number of child marriages, increased educational and vocational opportunities for women, and the increased efficacy and availability of contraception.” Another contributing factor is the later age people are getting married and having children.

Replacement level fertility is the number of children an average woman needs to have in order for a population to maintain its numbers- neither increasing nor decreasing the population. Each woman would need to have enough children to replace herself and her partner respectively for the population to remain the same. The general replacement level number for most countries is 2.1 children per woman.

Currently, the only continents where the fertility rate exceeds 2.1 children per woman are Africa and Oceania (Australia and the islands in the Central and Southern Pacific). The other continents all fall beneath the 2.1 replacement level rate, with North America and Europe having the lowest birth rates at 1.6 children per woman and 1.5 children per woman respectively.

While none of the continents of the world have fallen beneath the 1.4 fertility rate, 16 individual countries have. This means that each generation, these countries (such as Spain, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore) will lose 30% of their population.  Think about the impact to your community (business, schools, churches, etc.) if it were to lose 30 percent of its population with each succeeding generation.

While it is difficult to predict, a new study has shown that globally, we could fall beneath the 2.1 replacement level by as soon as 2030. Other studies have predicted the rate would decline in 2040 or even the 2050s, but this newest study has shown that the birth rates have declined at a much faster rate than anticipated, making 2030 a likely target. We wouldn’t see many effects until 30 years after dipping beneath 2.1, but the fact that we are so near falling beneath the replacement level is startling.

Somerville, Massachusetts became the first city to pass laws giving polyamorous groups the same or similar rights that married heterosexual couples have. These laws affect employment and medical healthcare, giving multiple individuals the same rights that typically only one person’s spouse would be able to receive. Other cities giving these rights to polyamorous groups include: Cambridge and Arlington, Massachusetts as well as Oakland and Berkeley, California.